A total of 4,689 new hotel rooms are expected to be added to the Qatari hospitality market during this year, the latest data by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has revealed.
Forty one new hotels will be operational by the end of 2010, the agency said, reported by the Peninsula on Sunday.
Last year the number of available hotel rooms in the country increased by 25 percent compared to the previous year.
Officials said this year looked to be even stronger because of the delays some projects faced due to liquidity pressures of the global financial crisis.
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“The global economic crisis has taken its toll on the world tourism sector,” Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, QTA chairman, told the paper.
“A thriving hotel industry is a key component for any country’s tourism sector.”
According to the data the total number of three-star hotel rooms in Qatar rose from 964 in 2008 to 1,084 in 2009. During the same time the number of four-star rooms also increased from 2,155 to 2,760, and the number of five-star grew from 3,056 to 4,059.
However, the QTA said hotel occupancy rates fell by 6.3 percent last year compared to 20008, and the revenues earned by four and five-star hotels fell by QR33m and QR10m respectively.
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Feb 18, 2010 , United Arab Emirates
I agree that Qatar has become a very interesting market. Never the less, there are not enough events in the country to support all the extra room nights coming up! But on the other hand the competition is needed and will be healthy. Forcing the existing hotels to raise their standards and servic...
Feb 11, 2010 , United Kingdom
Hi there, Having been a Director of Sales and Marketing for a Five Star Hotel in Qatar there is just this energy in Qatar since the Asian Games it has built a reputation as the most successful State in The Middle East, Qatar was put on the map once the Asian Games were over and continues to appe...